Health district officials investigating noise complaints in Bristol and surrounding towns said Friday they are prepared to take action against the company that many believe is the source of the sounds.
NBC CT Responds first reported the story in February.
The noise is believed to be coming from the Reworld facility in Bristol that turns waste into engergy. The company was Covanta but rebranded itself as Reworld in April.
The plant processes more than 220,000 tons of waste each year for 14 Connecticut communities, according to its website.
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In February, residents who live near the plant told NBC CT Responds the noise is hard to describe, but it is frequent and frustrating.
“It’s like a low-frequency pulsating noise and it kind of sounds like ‘mmm, mmm.’ Just like that, over and over,” said John Arnoso, of Bristol. “I’ve never been bothered by car or highway noise and things like that, but this noise, whatever it is, this low-frequency noise it just can keep you up at night.”
Reworld hired an independent noise expert to do acoustic testing at and around the facility. The investigation did detect what was described as "an unusual noise phenomenon" and the experts said the sound may be coming from two induced draft fans "that exhaust into the stack."
NBC CT Responds
The Bristol-Burlington Health District said it continues to get inquiries about the investigation into the noise. In response to those inquiries, the agency released a statement on Friday:
"Reworld (formerly Covanta) informed the BBHD that they are making changes to the equipment and operations in an attempt to address the concerns. The BBHD is cautiously assessing the efficacy of these efforts, but is prepared to take enforcement action if the acoustical problem is not sufficiently addressed."
An attorney for BBHD told NBC CT Responds the health district has the option of issuing a notice of violation if it determines sufficient progress hasn't been made in addressing the noise issue. It's not clear what the consequences of that would be. The attorney said they have not given Reworld a deadline to allow for "flexibility on our end to determine if the mitigation efforts are taking too long."
NBC CT Responds has reached out to Reworld for comment, but we have not yet heard back from the company.
